Specialty Pharmacy

General Description, Overview, and Opportunity

Specialty is the fastest growing segment of the pharmacy industry. More than 40 percent of the drugs currently under development are specialty drugs, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis. The drug pipeline is enormous and being led by more than 3,000 oncology and immunology drugs in global development. Although specialty medications account for less than 1 percent of prescriptions dispensed, they account for almost 38 percent of total pharmacy spending in the United States, according to the 2015 Express Scripts Drug Trend Report. This trend is expected to increase significantly over the next several years with the specialty portion of the pharmacy spend expected to catch, and the pass the traditional pharmacy spend by 2018, according to the CVS Caremark Insights 2013 Report.

Independent community pharmacies are continuing to demonstrate their capabilities to care for patients who require specialty medications despite the number of barriers and logistical complexities in the marketplace. Clearly, pharmacy entrepreneurs interested in specialty pharmacy have business considerations to evaluate before reaching the point of seeking payer contracts or specialty pharmacy accreditation.

These companies offer different models for community pharmacies to enter the specialty pharmacy marketplace. We encourage to look around their websites or call them directly for more information about what they offer for pharmacies like yours and decide which, if any, make sense for you.